The Intern Diaries

Friday, 18 June 2010 00:00

For some, summertime doesn’t mean downtime. It’s just another opportunity to travel, get an internship or otherwise move up in the world. But since you can’t do it all, INsite tracked down a handful of students in places from Thailand to Miami, New York to Paris. This week, INsite Magazine Blog takes to an internship all the way in Taiwan!

Allison at Taiwan - 9.08.2010

Near the end of my two months in Taiwan, I was suffering from a touch of cabin fever. I had been studying on a scholarship from the Taiwan-US Alliance in Pingtung, the capital of Taiwan’s southernmost county. During the week, I was tethered to my desk with homework and glued to my computer for news from the outside world. The weekend meant escape. But to where? Many of my friends had been to a place they called “Monkey Mountain,” the highest point in Taiwan’s second largest city, Kaohsiung. Their pictures showed an idyllic wilderness, with commanding views of Kaohsiung and hiking paths as frequented by simians as by people: the perfect place for an impulse adventure. Read More...

Cindy at Gainesville - 8.12.2010

Some folks, like me, aren’t cut for the Big Apple—well, not yet anyway—and I’d know; I was born and raised in Queens, NY, for eight years. The winters are rough, and the people are rougher. Plus, competition is stiff there. And it’s expensive. And I’m broke. So I opted for a local internship. After freelancing at INsite Magazine for a couple of months, I wanted to apply to be an editorial intern, but Maghan McDowell, INsite’s executive editor, asked me to be the online assignment editor instead, and of course, I obliged, happy to acquire experience as an editor (plus it looks rad on a resume). But little did I know what I’d be in for. Read More...

Bridget at Gainesville - 8.5.2010

Since May, I’ve listened to The Gainesville Sun interns chat away about their clips. Each day, there was a new newspaper and a new opportunity for them to be published. And each day, on the other side of the cubicle wall, I worked away on my own stories—the lone magazine intern with nothing to show for it. But all that changed this week with the arrival of the glossy, 126-page, back-to-school issue of Gainesville Magazine. My editor plopped a copy on my desk, and Erin Andrews stared up at me from the cover. Read More...

Zac at NYC - 7.22.2010

For three years, writing and editing in the field of sports journalism has been my calling. Sports often dominate my time and work, though I occasionally find time to dabble within magazines. That’s why snagging a summer internship with Sports Illustrated through the American Society of Magazine Editors was a dream come true: an opportunity to experience the best of both worlds. More than halfway through the summer, the experience has been irreplaceable. I’ve soaked in detailed information about the magazine industry, thanks not only to my hands-on work at SI but through the various meet-and-greet events with magazine bigwigs thrown together by ASME. Read More...

Wade at Gainesville - 7.14.2010

Most students hope to leave Gainesville for their summer vacation. Really, what’s better than taking advantage of mom’s free home-cooking again? But as the dorms and apartments empty out during the break, some of us decide to stick around. Of course, there are some perks to spending the summer in Gainesville: less traffic, shorter lines at the bar and internship opportunities. Speaking of which, I’m spending this summer doing something I managed to avoid for most of my undergraduate career: interning. Surprisingly, though, it hasn’t been so bad. This is my first intern gig, and already I’m a Web Editor for INsite Magazine. Sounds fancy, huh? I think so. Read More...

Victoria at NYC - 7.8.2010

New York City really is everything everyone says it is. Nobody sleeps, the skyline is pure magic at night and the city has a pulse all its own. This is my second summer in the Isle of Manhattan, and I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world. As a member of the American Society of Magazine Editors internship program, I’m learning new things every day while making friendships that will last a lifetime. There are 24 of us interning at various magazines, from Glamour to Sports Illustrated. I was chosen to work at More Magazine, a magazine for the sophisticated, stylish older woman. Already, I’m two weeks into my 10-week program. Can’t believe how fast it’s going. Read More...

Gayane at Jacksonville - 7.1.2010

Coming back to Jacksonville and living at home in order to intern began to seem more and more like the worst idea I’ve had since I cut my own bangs when I was three. However, now that I’ve been at Downtown Vision Inc. for a month, I know I made the right choice. DVI’s sole goal is to improve downtown Jacksonville by producing events and advocating on behalf of the area’s businesses. DVI has opened my eyes and made me appreciate Jacksonville much more. I’ve begun to realize that every city has its hidden treasures. Where else could I be within walking distance of a farmers market, a dozen cool bars and a delicious café-bookstore hybrid (other than Gainesville, of course)? Read More...

Gabriela at Miami - 6.24.2010

For the last two and a half weeks, I’ve been in Miami, working on video projects at The Miami Herald. At arrival, I was placed with Herald Studios, which does weekly business, entertainment and special interest shows. Since I got here, I’ve been editing, editing, editing. Only two weeks in, and already I’ve been involved in various video projects. One of the largest so far has been the 30-year anniversary of the Mariel Boatlift. A colleague and I set up a booth at the Cuba Nostalgia festival where we video-interviewed 17 Marielitos (people who arrived to Miami via the boatlift). It was awesome to hear their stories of the dangerous trip from Cuba to Miami, escaping communism. We even spoke to a woman who was born on the boat en route to Miami! Read More...

Meghan at Rome - 6.10.2010

I am 23, finishing school, and officially at the age when I have to be a grown up. So, to avoid and ignore this reality, I’m spending my last summer of freedom in Rome, Italy though the University of Florida’s study abroad program. But before we get to Rome, let’s go back a few months when this whole process started: I’m a Public Relations major with a minor in Leadership, except the College of Journalism and Communication at UF doesn’t tell me ‘til I apply to graduate that leadership won’t work as an outside concentration because the credits overlap, or some nonsense. So, I pick a new one. I go with business, which seems like my only option, really. Instead of doing the same ol’ in Gainesville, though, I apply to study abroad. Read More...

Lane at Paris - 6.3.2010

They say New York City is the city that never sleeps, but Paris is a close second. There is always somewhere to go, whether it be an all-night discotheque near the Champs-Elysées, a crowded bar at the Bastille or a stroll through the streets to take in the nightlife. After spending two weeks in Paris for a study abroad course, it already felt like home. There was so much to do and not enough time to do it. I took a sociolinguistics course (through the University of Florida), so I visited cafés and markets around the city, listening to how people communicate in different settings. When I didn’t have class, I tried to see as many museums as possible, in addition to squeezing in some shopping, of course. One of my favorite parts of the city was the Marais, the Jewish quarter. Mixed in with the temples and kosher stores were some of the cutest boutiques, like Merci and The Kooples. I also discovered the “best falafels in Paris” that were loaded with all sorts of toppings. Delicious. Read More...

Allison at Kingsley Plantation - 5.27.2010

From the moment I arrived at our residence on the Kingsley Plantation, I was greeted by light tapping sounds as swarms of horse flies dove headlong onto the car windows, eager for a meal. The following morning, peacocks crowed me awake at the crack of dawn. Later that day, I would tumble—not once, but twice—into meter-deep holes, finding myself neck-deep in a pit of sand and roots that I had dug myself. These are the joys of archaeology field school, a class offered by the University of Florida’s anthropology department as part of an ongoing effort to excavate the ring of slave cabins surrounding the Kingsley Plantation. Read More...

Sarah at INsite - 5.20.2010

My name’s Sarah Jackson, and I’m an editorial intern for INsite now. Just started this month. Cool, huh? I think it’ll be a great resume-booster. It’s been interesting thus far, but also nerve-racking. For one of my first assignments, I had to cover The Storytellers’ Summit for the blog. I was asked to write a preview of the event and interview an organizer. That is, I’d have to interview one of my professors because the journalism college was hosting the summit. Damn it. Read More...

Don't forget to keep up with all our Intern Diaries at the INsite Magazine Blog.